Our Missing Neighbores
by TheJauntyJabberwock
Summary: People are going missing in Central City by the dozens, and it's up to Team Flash to find out why and put a stop to it. Little do they know this threat is unlike any they have faced before... ((Rated based on what I think the general show would be rated on here? Possible in universe guest appearance later, telling who would be spoilers.))
1. Chapter 1

**AN** : please forgive typos, I'm writing all this on mobile. Just a little something I thought up, figure I may as well write it up and put it out there. If you like it: reviews get me to prioritize updating certain works. Since I kinda bounce between multiple projects. Heads up if you decide to branch into other stuff of mine: my other works tend to be more dark. This one should be reading as a general episode or Flash plot line. :)

—-

"Alright team, what's the update?" Barry Allen had his usual etching of concern strewn across his face, ruffling his short hair with thinly veiled frustration.

"Cisco, how are we coming with our analysis?"

"Well I've been scanning the city for any breaches or meta human activity. Nothing has come up."

"Nothing? Are you sure?"

"I'm telling you, nothing is registering on my scans."

"So, no way to scan for this...it could be ordinary people responsible." Wells never did shy away from harsher possibilities.

"What, like a cult or something?" Barry didn't like the idea of that.

"Or...human trafficking." Caitlin liked that idea less.

"Usually for trafficking you're looking at people no one will miss. This is too high profile to fit the bill. CCPD noticed something was wrong three weeks ago, when the first batch went missing."

"Okay, so what do we have then?" Cisco brought it back with a sip of his slurpee big gulp, earning a face from Barry. Caitlin jumped in,

"I've been collecting what I can. All of the disappearances have happened either at night or first thing in the morning. Most of the victims were last spotted in a variety of locations. A kareoke bar, an art gallery, the botanical gardens, the park. The only things that remain constant is that the victims are healthy, attractive, and all of them have some kind of skill set. They have all disappeared without a trace. Who ever is taking people, they might not be taking our best, but they're still being picky." Barry looked back over the pictures pinned up to their board. Looking over a sea of beautiful faces from all walks of life.

"Different ethnicities, social circles, backgrounds...there has to be something more connecting all of these people."

A silence fell over the room, drifted between them and pressed on their shoulders. A team of brilliant minds, each working a puzzle from a different angle. They didn't have all the pieces.

"We can visit the last known locations again. See if we missed anything?" Caitlin suggested.

"I don't think this is location based."

"Well, do you have a better idea, Cisco?"

"Gee, I don't know, because we haven't established a pattern here yet! What are we supposed to do, monitor the entire city at once?"

"Okay, I think we need a break-"

"That's not a bad idea." The team turned to Barry. Go on.

"Well, the places didn't have security footage. The ones that did showed the individual leaving the area, but not where they went. Maybe one of the satelites caught something? Or a street camera or something around the art gallery? We've been so focused on thinking this is a meta, we forgot about more mundane options."

"...I'll see what I can find."

"And I'll go get us some refreshments."

"I'll join you, Caitlin. We need to restock our coffee supply." Wells went through at least five pots a day, given there was no coffee on his Earth.

"I guess I can check the locations again. Just in case we did overlook something." It would be much faster work for the Flash.

—

Barry came to a quick stop in central city park, no one around to spot his sudden arrival. The area was a well-kept landscape, allowing him to easily sweep his eyes across grass and scattered trees. The concrete running path dipped and curved across the expanse, passing by a series of man made ponds and lakes, and dotted with occasional benches and water fountains. This was the last place one of the first victims were seen. Brandon Williamson, a former gymnast out for his morning jog. There had been no sign of a struggle, nothing had been dropped or left behind, no footprints off the trail even. One moment he was there, and then he was gone. As far as anyone could tell.

Barry took a moment to breath in the air, scanning over the area again. They couldn't have missed anything. They had combed the entire area several times. It had to be a meta. Or maybe a way-ward breach. What else could it possibly be? He had been wracking his brains for weeks, visiting each location with the hopes he might find something new. How was he going to stop this? How was he going to bring everyone back? Could it even be done? With a weary sigh, he moved over to the bench overlooking the water. The ducks were out, drifting over the lake with scarcely a ripple, their webbed feet padding furiously below the surface.

He leaned back, glancing up at the fluffy clouds that hovered in one place. Those refused to move today.

"Where are you?"

"Where's who?" The voice startled him, he hadn't noticed the jogger approaching on his right. She wore a sports-bra and fitness leggings, clean sneakers, and had her blonde hair pulled back into a tight poneytail that ended in light curls. She paused to lean on the bench in question and stretch her hamstrings. A thick Scottish accent colored her words.

"I seen ye around a lot lately. Ye always waitin' on someain? Ur havin' an affair?" The last was a playful jab with a wink, she clearly didn't actually think he was.

"Happily married, actually."

"Mores the pity." Now that he thought about it, had he seen her around here before? He felt like he should have remembered, at the very least that accent. Maybe he only caught the tail end of her as she continued her run?

"Actually, I've been looking for my friend. Brandon was last seen here."

"Oh. Pure tragic."

"If you're a usual, maybe you saw him? Tall guy, dark hair cut short, tattoo of a Phoenix on one arm?"

"Cannae say, sorry. Ma-"

"Nooooooooo." The startle of a third voice, as an old man came rushing towards them as best he could. Barry was on his feet, the dirty vagabond moving right for the woman. Shaggy hair and beard in white tumbled over an old worn coat, his balled fists swinging for the woman in wide arches that she was able to duck under without difficulty.

"Whit's yer problem?!" He kept trying to hit her with a wild desperation, startling when Barry put a hand on the slow old man's shoulder.

"Hey, calm down!" The old guy wasn't an incredible danger, this was a job for Barry Allen police contact, not Flash the Superhero. He still prepared to get walloped in the face, but the old man turned sad eyes back to him, tensed but didn't strike. The woman was already running away.

"Wait, ma'am!" She didn't slow down, and the man in front of him gripped onto Barry's shirt.

"You can't trust...you can't trust..."

"What?"

"Can't trust...theif! Theif! It's all a lie!" He broke down, sinking to the ground with tears leaving a trail in the dirt coating his face.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's going to be alright. I work with the CCPD. Do you know about us?" The old man began to rock back and forth, sobbing to himself.

"It's going to be okay. Let's get you somewhere where you can get a warm meal. Does that sound good?" Barry didn't know what this guys deal was. He was clearly unstable, a danger if he was left alone. That didn't make him a bad guy, not one of the villains Barry fought as the Flash. He was another citizen, who clearly needed help.

"Will you come with me? Please? I'd like to help you." The old man crawled backwards away from him, terror in his eyes.

"No. Nonononono. Don't trust!" He pulled himself to his feet and began to hobble away, leaving Barry to sigh.

"Sorry." In blinding speed, he used his speed force to pick up the man and drop him off at the police station. He ducked around a corner, and the poor guy made as much of a scene there as he did the park. The officers handled it, eventually calming him down and bringing him inside. It wasn't a permanent solution, but for now it would give him a warm place to sleep and keep him from attacking anyone else.

"Hey guys," checking in on his com, "still didn't find anything new. Just an old guy who needs some help. He's in holding for now."

"Yikes. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. No one was hurt."

"That's good at least."

"Anything on your end?"

"I think I might have found something, actually. Not sure what yet.""Alright Cisco, see you in a flash."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Iris is visiting Wally, thus out of town for this. Can't seem to fix what ever the hell formatting this this website is doing. :/

* * *

The rush of air always accompanied Barry when he entered Star Labs, but that didn't mean Cisco was any more used to it now than when the speedster first began making that kind of entrance. He swallowed down the initial jolt as usual to focus in.

"Okay. So no meta activity. No breaches. No video footage anywhere, right?"

"Cisco, we just went over-"

"Wrong!"

"Wrong? You found something?"

"Oh, you could say that. You could say I found...the mothership."

"...Cisco, what does that mean?"

"Hey guys, we-"

"Perfect timing Caitlin!"

"Uh, you seem to be in a better mood?" Cisco gave a deep laugh that made Caitlin and Barry exchange a look of concern.

"Pull up a chair, I'm about to blow. Your. Mind."

"Cisco, can we just-"

"Up-bupbupbup, ssssh. Just, breath it in. This is the moment humanity has been waiting for. You see, all of these individuals have disappeared without a trace. How, we've been asking? And with no signatures left behind that we could find, no matter how I examine the satellite scans from the last known locations. But, what about scanning for other anomalies? Bam!" A map of the city pulled up on the screen, then minimized to show several more beside it. Each had various colored heat signatures displayed across the cities.

"What do you see?" Caitlin spotted it first,

"That white area...it's around each of the missing persons locations."

"And around the times. What does white mean? It's an absence of heat signature. For an average of two minutes in each of these spots, at each of these times, there was a small pocket of no heat at all. As if the area just...stopped existing."

"Okay, well that tells us-"

"I'm not done yet, Wells!" And he was getting more excited by the second,

"I thought to myself, this is just what we know of. So I ran a scan for more of these anomalies." With a tap of a few keys the maps on the screen multiplied.

"Jesus. How long has this been going on?"

"It's increased in frequency in the last month. Before that they were pretty scattered blips, spanning out since our first encounters with the multi-verse. Some even just outside of the city. I ran these times and locations to possible video footage, and just when it looked like nothing, found one hit."

Instead of explaining, a flurry of typing fingers put the video on screen. A cell-phone footage of a party just outside of the city, flashing lights and blaring beats, the candy-wearing and brightly painted youth jumping and dancing to the music.

"Woah, what was that?" The camera jumped up to show the tail end of a streaking bright light, following it to a landing in the nearby trees. The camera move to follow the glow, away from the crowd, a few people following.

"What was that?"

"A pretty cool effect." They moved closer, a brilliant white light shining through the trees. Within the light was movement, an impossibly tall humanoid figure, that seemed to look at them.

"Shit it's Slenderman!" The girl beside the camera holder screamed, and the figure and light both blinked out of existence.

Cisco let it sink in with a grin.

"This is the exact location and time of one of those indicators. Why are people disappearing without a trace? Beam me up Scottie!" They weren't sure what to say about that.

"So...you think it's aliens?" Wells wasn't convinced.

"Dude, you saw it yourself!"

"I mean...we deal with crazier stuff all the time. Why not Aliens?"

"Thank you, Caitlin."

"Let's assume it is, what are we going to do about these Alien abductions?"

"Oh. Right." That knocked the wind out of Cisco's sails. Back down to reality. Still a lot of missing people. Back to his maps.

"I mean, not all of these coincide with a disappearance. But I can set it up to alert us of the next one. They're usually here around two minutes. More than enough time for the Flash to get there."

Barry was about to respond when his phone rang, Joe flashing on the screen.

"Hold that thought. What's up Joe?" The three behind him kept discussing what this meant, what it didn't mean, what they could or should do.

"Hey Barry, do you know about a rambling old homeless guy that made a scene outside the precinct?"

"I may have dropped him off..."

"I thought so. You'd better get down here."

"What's up?"

"This is something you'll want to see for yourself." Joe hung up, leaving Barry to frown at the phone.

"Hey guys, I gotta go downtown. Somethings up with Joe. Great work, we'll figure this out."

"Yeah, of course-" the woosh cut Caitlin off.

* * *

"Hey Barry, Joe is waiting for you in his office."

"Thanks!" He went straight there, opening the door to find Joe sitting with the man from the park, who was shivering even though he was wrapped in a blanket. He looked up and jumped when he saw Barry.

"It's okay, it's okay. He's not going to take you anywhere." Joe soothed, Barry put up his hands to show he was unarmed and stayed by the door. No sudden movements.

"May I show him? " Joe motioned to the man's arm and got a defeated resignation. He gently moved the blanket, and the coat aside, to show the man's arm. A faded image of a Phoenix was stained on the wrinkled skin. Barry's heart sank.

"You're-" his mouth ran dry, he had to take a moment, "are you...Brandon?" Recognition flickered in those sunken eyes, of only for a second.

"They're thieves. Don't trust..." he felt the wind knock out of him, Joe's sympathetic gaze understanding why. Brandon's fiancé. His youth. His health. His life. His mind. His future. It had all been stolen away from him. What were they going to tell Susan? Who was waiting for them to bring home the man she loved? His legs felt week, Barry finding the free chair across from the desk slow enough not to startle.

"Brandon...who did this to you?" Brandon only whimpered, began to cry and rock back and forth. Joe resumed the conversation.

"It's okay, you're safe now. Please, if you can answer a few questions? I know it's difficult. You can just nod or shake your head. Where you were, were there others?" Brandon's brow furrowed, the rocking motion intensified. After a moment, he nodded.

"Okay. That's good. Very good. Did you get away?" Another, firmer nod. Barry spoke next,

"Could you help us find the others?" Brandon glanced up at Barry.

"Please, we want to save them too. We want to bring them home." Brandon stared Barry down, dull blue eyes brightening. He stopped rocking. He spoke in a forced voice, muddled by a painful rasp,

"They are home." The room felt chill, and then the light left his eyes. He began rocking again. Barry and Joe exchanged a glance.

"Okay Brandon. Thank you for answering our questions." Brandon continued to sob.

"Let's talk outside."

"Y-Yeah Joe. Of course."

Brandon quickly latched to Joes arm,

"No. Don't. It hurts."

"It's going to be okay. We'll be right outside that door." Joe gently regained his arm, and the two stepped outside.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Cisco thinks it's Aliens."

"Aliens?" Joes brows raised and forhead wrinkled, but he learned a while ago to shake his head and let the unusual sink in.

"You remember when we just had to worry about an average criminal?"

"Simpler times, Joe." Ages ago. Too long.

"Okay, so.. Aliens. Any plans? You think folksat Star Labs might be able to find some way to reverse this?"

"I mean, we can try. We've accomplished a lot-" a scream interupted their hushed exchange, and then a crash just as Joe reached the door handle. By the time they stumbled into the office, the window was already shattered and seat empty. They rushed to the broken glass, Barry hissing as the shards dug into his skin, but he was too late. Brandon lay on the pavement below.

"No..." It was a whisper, he didn't notice the sting of glass cutting into his skin anymore. It would heal. Into the Speedforce, he had enough time to notice an out of place detail before he ran down.

"Ice?" A tiny section of frost crystals had formed around the windows edges, quickly melting. He speed down to Brandon, checking for a pulse. The fall wasn't impossible, but no luck. No pulse.

"What happened to you?" He had to swallow the failure. Close the terrified eyes. Take a moment to breath.

"I promise you, I will find out. And make sure no one else ends up this way."

* * *

 **AN:** i tend to keep chapters fairly short for quicker turn around time. :)


	3. Chapter 3

They were still pondering over the possibilities of Alien life forms when Barry trudged back into the lab, no woosh of air. Cisco was arguing for the possibilities and science possible out of Star Trek. Caitlin was trying to keep him more grounded and mentioned they should reach out to Kara, and Wells feed into theories with info from the other earths. Of course Aliens were real. They didn't need to argue that, they needed to find out who they were and what this meant. They were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice Barry's presence until Caitlin caught him in the corner of her eye.

"Hey, when-" she cut herself off when he crossed out Brandon Williamson's face from the board. The meaning there made her stop cold, taking a few seconds to reach for Cisco to clue him in to stop talking. Barry cut off the conversation first.

"Brandon is dead."

Silence hung over the room. Dead?

"H-how?" Caitlin asked first.

"He was aged, somehow. Out of his mind. He kept saying something about theives and don't trust, then threw himself out of a window."

"Jeez...you okay?" Cisco was coming down from geekdom.

"I'm fine. He was the guy in the park. There was ice around the window where he fell. I just...feel like I'm missing something. They're examining the body...guys we really need to figure this out and find the others."

"Before the same thing happens to them...I guess this is less Star Trek and more Aliens or Predator? Are they feeding off us?"

"Well they're not going to get to us-" the sharpness in Caitlin's voice only lasted for a second before she swallowed Frost down. No need to be scared. They could handle it. They always handled it.

"That girl in the park. I wonder if he was as out of his mind as he really seemed then. Maybe she knows something she isn't saying."

"You want backup? I can Vibe us out of trouble if we end up in the mothership."

"That might not be a bad idea."

"I can check on the lab results from the autopsy. See what we are dealing with from that end and if we can reverse it in the others once we find them?" Caitlin offered.

"If we find them." Leave it to Wells to bring the mood down. And Cisco to pick it back up.

"I've got my scanner set up to catch any more of those sightings. If another shows up this lab will know it. And so will we." He snapped a gadget to his wrist, and moved to change into his Vibe gear.

—

Out the two popped, both in gear. The moon hung high above them in a clear sky, the stars blotted out by the city's light pollution. There was a soft breeze giving a cool chill.

"Alright, look out Aliens, here we- wait how do we know she will be here?"

"We don't. But thinking back, I think I've seen her at least pass by more than the once."

"Okay. So we'll just...keep an eye out?" A couple strolling through the park came around the turn and up the hill, eyeing the two with sudden suspicion and concern. Both men gave them charming smiles.

"Lovely night." Barry tried to keep it calm.

"No problems here!" Cisco chimed in more weakly. The couple hurried past them without comment, wanting nothing to do with the masked heroes. Ouch. You'd think they were the problem.

They stood around for a few minutes. High alert. Nothing was happening. Was this a dead end? Where else could they go next? Cisco could only keep up the on edge, ready to fight, atmosphere for so long before relaxing.

"Maybe we should take shifts until she shows up?" He offered, pulling a pack of twizzlers out of his pocket and offering one to Barry.

"How can you think of your stomach at a time like this?"

"How can you not? You need how many calories a day?" Fair point, It slipped a hint of a smile back on Barry's face as he accepted one. This case was tough. But at least he didn't have to do it alone. The two leaned on the back of the closest park bench and munched, looked out at the lake and the silhouettes of ducks in the darkness. Drifting. Peaceful.

"Whit brings ye here?" They turned, the air swirling around them, to see the blonde from that morning. She was in the same attire as before, the bite of wind not even registering goosebumps on the exposed expanse of her skin around the sports bra. Pale, flawless, toned. She reflected the moonlight, and the missing starlight shined from bright green eyes.

"Beam me up Scotty..." the comment was breathless, both men taken back with the vision despite having girlfriends. Instinctual pull, the faint glimmer over her skin lead their eyes on a merry chase across the expanse of her.

"Dae ah kin ye?" the lilting roll of her accent caressed them. "Whit are ye daein'?"

"I...don't know..." a fog began to roll in around them, off the water and out of the trees. She extended a hand with a warm smile. Both men began to reach for it, but Cisco was the one to pull them back with a snap.

"Oh no! No Jedi mind tricks!" A shimmer ripples over her face, the expression waiting below venomous and twisted in grey skin. It was only a split second, but it was all the confirmation they needed.

"What happened to Brandon?" Barry was snapping out of it, though his thoughts were slower than usual.

"Who?" Somehow she made the simple question an insult.

"You can't fool us, Alien scum! Hiding behind the face of a pretty girl!" Cisco fired a pulse from his hands past her, making the blonde jump in sudden genuine shock with a small bleating noise.

"That was a warning shot! Drop the games and take us to your leader- oof!" Without warning the girl had reared up and delivered a perfectly executed kick to Cisco's gut that sent him flying back several feet. Deceptive strength, Barry ran to keep his friend from ending up in the lake, then turned to give chase.

She ran, nimble and graceful and fast through the trees. Hopping over fallen branches or rocks, and then through lush green moss that didn't belong. Somehow she was staying just ahead of him. He ran faster, and still she stayed just ahead. The forest around them grew from the few clustered trees in the park, to an expanse of towering winding bark and roots, dark with the gentle mist of precipitation among the brilliant green. The roots were as thick as his legs and torso in places, the trees so high he couldn't see the tops. He barely had time to register the change of scene. She lept into the air and across a bubbling stream, glancing over her shoulder on the other side. It was a small trickle. A child could have jumped the expanse. He moved to hop the gap, and a pair of strong hands grabbed his arm and yanked him backwards.

Barry felt the wind knock out of him as his back hit the ground. He was looking up at the city sky again, the tree tops at his feet obvious in where they ended. He had to blink a few times, his head spinning.

"Cisco? Wh-" when he looked up it wasn't Cisco he saw. A British accent chided him,

"What the Devil were you doing?" A square jaw below short blonde hair, a white button up and red tie under an old tan trench coat, all together loomed over him.

"You're lucky I was here to pull you out!"

"What? Who? Out of what?" He was dizzy, trying to stand and stumbling.

"I gotcha mate."

"Who are-" his com blarred to life.

"Barry? Barry is that you?" Iris sounded over his com.

"Iris?"

"I came home early, just to hear you were missing after chasing Aliens?"

"What? Missing? No, Cisco and I found a lead. Where is he?" He heard Cisco over the feed.

"Dude, that was five hours ago! Where did you go? Iris got back and was pissed!" The last was said with some urgency before Cisco added, "as she has every right to be...worried...about her husband..." bad save.

Barry spun, or tried to, still too wobbly.

"I'm still in the park. With...uh..."

"John Constantine. That yer team, mate? It's cool, I'm a do-gooder my own self. Just of a...different talent source. Let's get you back to them, and I'll explain what's going on." Barry leaned off, trying his own feet and finding them more stable.

"Sorry, I'm not following. You're-"

"The man who just saved your life. And you and yours are running out of time. So you gonna let me in on your super-duper team to help, or do you need to call up your buddy Oliver to double check my credentials?"

"Hey team. Guy here, John Constantine, says he knows Olly and saved my life. Knows what's going on. Should I bring him by?" Silence on the other end.

"...he's here to help?"

"That's what he says."

"Then I guess let's give him the chance to prove that."


	4. Chapter 4

The two came out the elevator, Iris moving to Barry first.

"I'm glad you're okay." A hug, the two hadn't seen each other in a week, but kept it brief so she could turn to the new comer.

"You must be John. You know what's going on?"John gave a nod, and Iris extended a hand to shake.

"I'm Iris Allen. Thank you for helping my husband."

"Pleasure's all mine. Heard good things about the team here."

"From Oliver?" Caitlin chimed in as she came closer.

"From him, Yeah. And from a less personal source called the telli." The news. Right.

"Well, lets not waste time. You know what Aliens we're up against?" Iris prompted.

"Right to the point. I like this one." John smirked, hands in his pocket,

"But it's not Aliens yer dealing with, luv. Or I guess, in a way, it is. Depends on who you talk to."

"That's...not very helpful." Caitlin.

"Trust me, yer gonna wish you were dealing with Aliens."

"Then I guess it's a good thing they've got one to help." Barry lit up when he saw Kara pop in.

"Hey, they called me just before you vanished. I thought maybe I could help?"

"Yeah, it's great to see you! How have you been?"

"Oh, same old same old. Congrats again on your wedding!" Barry and Iris answered in unision,

"Thanks!" Caitlin brought it back,

"Okay, back on point. It's not Aliens? Or might be Aliens?" Kara chimed in,

"We kinda prefer "extra-terrestrial"...right. Not important right now. Missing people! Which by the way, Kryptonians? Totally against kidnapping."

"Hey, where is Cisco?" Barry wondered why the last of his team he had seen wasn't here to greet him on his return. "He was just...behind me..." Caitlin looked around her, but he wasn't there. Urgency entered John's voice,

"...okay team, first priority meeting, unless you want to disappear and stay gone. You need a safety lesson. Now."

"But what about Cisco?"

—

Cisco had been in the lab, fiddling with the interdemensional tracking devices he was making, when a sweet feminine whisper reached out to make him jump and drop the small device. He let out an exhale.

"Cisco." Wait, the voice sounded familiar.

"Gypsy?" Synthia hated her real name being used.

"What have you been messing with?"

"What do you mean? And where are you? Since when can you-" He was suddenly in the Vibe state, as if pushed down into it. That place between places, always initially disorienting him. Gypsy was there, waiting for him.

"You're in danger, Cisco."

"Awe, you do care! But it's fine, babe, nothing I can't handle." She didn't look convinced in the face of his dashing grin.

"You have no idea what you've done." She insisted. Okay. Ominous.

"Aaaaaare you gonna...tell me?" She sighed. She held out a hand. He reached for it without even thinking, her fingers closed and pulled him to her in a fast embrace. He thought it was a sweet show of concern (Synthia was an intense woman), until the voice in his ear spoke.

"Dae ye still wan' be taken tae th' leader?" It was too late for him to refuse, he was falling, and then he was out cold into the blackness.

—

Cisco was asleep. Without dream, blissful darkness that began to fade away into sensation. The sensation of gentle fingers, running through his thick locks of hair in an absent minded rhythm. As he began to wake up, he felt like he was laying on something soft and plush, but not his pillow. A strangled murmur crawled out of his throat as he began to stir, craving the weightless comfort of slumber to return. Eventually his eyes had to open, noticing his head was propped on a lap. He glanced up to see his girlfriend's face smiling pleasantly, her fingers playing with his messy locks of hair. It felt nice. And he instantly knew it was wrong.

"You're awake." It had her voice too, but he crawled away from the woman quickly. He wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. She looked just like Synthia but...felt wrong. The look on her face was gentle, relaxed, nurturing. The wrong kind of confidence played in her eyes.

"Who are you?" Of course he sounded unhappy, some...thing was impersonating the woman he loved.

"Oh God, don't be a Thing kind of problem..." the horror of body-snatching Aliens wasn't far-fetched given all they had encountered before, the nightmarish thought making his stomach tie in knots.

"You are more observant than most of your kind, Traveler. Does my form displease you?"

"You're not my girlfriend, so yeah, your form displeases me." He shot back in nasal snark. At least she was talking and not attacking him. That gave him enough ease to look around the place. They were in a forest. The trees reached so high above he couldn't see the tops. And yet sunshine rays came down warm and brilliant and sparkling. They were in a patch of grass so lush and so fresh, it had to be fake. Scattered rocks dotted the area around them, covered in plastic looking moss and carved in strange swirling patterns. Above them were whisps of giant brightly colored silks that hung on fishing line thin wire down to the ground, lights twinkling around the silks.

"I see," the woman's voice changed, it became a cavern surrounding them, an iridescent ripple taking hold, "then there is little point to keeping it." He turned in time to see a shimmer radiate over her, the way heat waves rise off dessert roads in the summer, and her form changed. Long black hair spilled down around her, so long it would reach the ground if she stood. White flowers were woven into it, all but glowing with life. Her skin was pale, not white, porcelain with a shimmer, her eyes carved from labradorite in reflective blue-green above plump red lips. Snow White couldn't hold a candle to her. Her dress was white and flowing, both translucent and modest simultaneously in a tradition Indian saree style of draped layers and intricate gold embroidery, tiny gems that matched her eyes laid into the woven patterns and swirls.

"Who...what are you?" He didn't mean for it to sound breathless. He didn't realize he had sunk to his knees in the grass, or that looking at her made a line of tears run down his face. God. She was beautiful. It hurt to look at her, and it hurt more to think about pulling his eyes away. If he did, would she disappear? Would he ever be graced with a sight like this again? Just the idea of loosing this moment felt like a literal stab to the heart that made him wheeze out his air and double over. A touch of amusement reached her smile as she answered,

"You wished my attendant take you to her leader. Here I am." The familiar accent returned, a girl hopping over to them by bounding between the rocks on cloven feet beneath a flowing green dress. Blond curls draped down her back over pointed ears and grey skin as she laughed and spoke up.

"Rejoice! Here sits Titania." Cisco understood instantly, his eyes widening.

"Holy-"

—

"Faeries?" Wells was uncertain, but Kara lit up.

"I love Tinkerbell!"

"Luv, Tinkerbell isn't exactly what to expect. Your boys here have been popping holes between realities, and other things have noticed the weaknesses left behind."

"Okay, then how do we get in?"

"You don't want to. My advice? Cut your losses, and I'll close that sucker back up."

Barry couldn't accept that.

"We're not going to give up on those people."

"Cisco is missing now. If you think they grabbed him there's no way we can forget about it." Caitlin agreed readily. Kara still wasn't following,

"I don't get it, what's so dangerous about faeries? Don't they grant people wishes?" John gave something between a snort, a scoff, and a laugh.

"I gamble with literal lords of hell. If a faerie shows up to play cards you might as well fold. These tricksters make Loki look like a toddler."

"Do you?" Iris folded her arms.

"Do I what?"

"Fold. When a Faerie shows up, do you fold your cards and walk away?" John stared at her in surprise, before a slow smirk spread over his lips.

"No. I suppose I don't." Too stubborn to. Iris could tell.

"Then what's the game plan?" Caitlin had that touch of edge to her voice again. Frost wanted to come out and play.

John had to think about that.

"If you lot want to go into faerie and get yourselves worse than dead, fine. I'll give you some tools to help, but I'm staying out here. I can give you a few hours. Then I'm shutting the doors you opened." They stared at him.

"...You're too scared to go." Iris didn't pull the punch, but John shrugged it off like a heavy weight boxer,

"You should be." Karra piped up,

"But, what is so dangerous? I don't get it. All the stories I've heard-"

"Are bunk, luv." He ran a hand over his face with an exasperated sigh.

"Right. Rules. Don't thank anyone or take anything offered to you. Don't accept any help or deals. Don't eat or drink anything. Don't trust anything you see. Find your people, get out." The group exchanged looks with each other, the gravity properly settling in. John let them, then pipped up,

"So. Who's going to Fairy?"

—

 **AN** : don't worry folks, still plenty of twists and turns planned for our heroes. It's gonna be a faerie good time. ;p

Who ever knows what the blonde faerie is gets a shout out next chapter when it gets released. :)


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